


Offer Your Heart

by LaurelNymph



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Aztec au, Background Character Death, Blood, Blood Drinking, Ereri Secret Santa 2015, Human Sacrifice, Human!Eren, M/M, god!Levi, like it's a random background filler character, no actual main character death, suspected main character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 16:16:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5504399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaurelNymph/pseuds/LaurelNymph
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn't a dream job, but Levi didn't mind being the god of death. He got to rule over the underworld, get tons of offerings, stay out of the sun... Not a bad gig. At least, that's how he felt until he met an incredible human with such pretty eyes. If only there was a way they could be together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Offer Your Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my secret santa present for eccentrick-stardust!
> 
> I did a lot of research on the Aztecs, but please let me know if I made any mistakes. Here are some notes to start the story.
> 
> Levi is the god of death, Mictlantecuhtli. He is the king of Mictlan, or the underworld. His name translates to “Lord of Mictlan”. Mictlan was the final resting place for people who died an ordinary death.
> 
> Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Aztec empire, and is located where Mexico City is today.
> 
> The macuahuitl is a weapon like a sword but instead of a metal blade, it has sharp pieces of obsidian glued on the edges.
> 
> Also, there is amazing art over here! http://midasmyass.tumblr.com/post/135910891447/merry-christmas-to-the-two-mods-at

Blood.

Long before Levi reached Tenochtitlan he could already smell it. The coppery scent in the air rejuvenated him; put a spring in his step as he headed in the direction of the crowd to the festivities. Levi sure was glad he could choose to be invisible so he could skirt the masses and find a good place to watch the sacrifice in peace.

True, it wasn’t his festival day and he didn’t really need to leave Mictlan for this, but he so enjoyed going to see _this_ particular sacrifice. The whole city seemed to have turned out to watch the annual spectacle. A prisoner of war with a stone shackled to his leg was given a single, shitty wooden club before their own warriors entered the scene. The captive gripped his weapon fiercely and swung it at the first warrior who dared come near him.

“Shit!” Levi groaned along with the rest of the crowd as the wooden club knocked into the long-faced warrior’s neck and their countryman ate shit. The club was swung again and he had to roll away in the dirt to avoid getting another hit. The second warrior dashed forward but instead of attacking, the idiot knelt down to help his comrade.

Distracted by trying to help his friend, he didn’t see the captive pick up the macuahuitl the first warrior had dropped. Even Levi was tempted to gasp along with the rest of the crowd when that son of a bitch hefted his stolen blade backward, aiming to slice the two warriors.

Before he could land the hit, a third warrior stepped forward and—instead of using his weapon like a normal person— _fucking punched the guy in the face_.

The crowd fell deathly silent. You could have heard a pin drop it was so fucking quiet. The captive stumbled once, hacked up some blood, and then fell over dead.

It took Levi probably a minute to pull himself out of his shocked stupid state and pick his jaw up off the floor so that he could shout, “ _What the fuck?”_

He wasn’t the only one. The crowd became animated again, cheering such an impressive death blow. Holy hell. That had been amazing. Meanwhile, down in the fight the warriors were straightening themselves out.

“Careful Marco!” the puncher said before grasping one friend’s hand and pulling him to his feet. “You were nearly cut in half!”

Levi’s attention was drawn to the badass warrior who could literally punch the shit out of a man. One look at him and Levi was frozen still. In the scuffle the warrior’s hood had fallen off. Without the spotted jaguar skins to hide away his face, Levi realized how brilliant his green eyes were, gleaming with leftover adrenaline as he checked over his comrade for wounds. Thick brown hair spilled from his head. Even through the jaguar skins he wore, Levi could tell his body was toned. Heroic _and_ beautiful. Fucking unfair.

Some people had all the luck.

“Thanks, Eren,” the comrade said, moments before tumbling to the ground in a faint.

Levi found himself repeating under his breath, “Eren.”

The name felt good on his tongue.

* * *

Something was wrong. Levi sighed and sank down further in his throne. Not even the offerings from the souls who’d made it to Mictlan could cheer him up (and there was a fuckton of chocolate in there). Somehow he was just really fucking irritated. He’d _been_ irritated for days. Mictlan was just the last fucking place he wanted to be today.

He wanted to be up in the city.

Which was kinda weird because Levi normally didn’t mind living in Mictlan. Sure, it wasn’t the sunniest place around (being underground could do that) and it was full of dead people. And owls. But still. Levi normally felt no angst about living in the underworld. It was where he’d been placed and ruling over it wasn’t the world’s crappiest job. Lately though, he wished he could go into Tenochtitlan and stay there.

He’d never felt that way before.

But now Mictlan felt dark. At least, it felt dark when he thought about those green eyes. The image of that bright gaze was seared into his mind. Levi knew jack shit about the warrior except his name, but being in Mictlan underscored how badly he wanted to see the man again. Where he saw darkness, he thought of those eyes. Where there were a shitton of spiders he wanted out of his house he thought about how easily Eren had slain that sacrifice. He couldn’t get the man out of his head.

“I’m done feeling like shit,” Levi said out loud. “I’m going.”

He was going to scratch that itch and see Eren one last time. Just for the sake of settling his curiosity. Then, he’d be able to come back to Mictlan and be fine.

A nearby owl hooted. It almost sounded like laughter.

“Fuck you!” Levi snapped at the thing before heading on up.

* * *

It was disgustingly hot as he searched the city for Eren. He wasn’t even human, why the fuck was he sweating? Shouldn’t gods be above this crap? Levi was just about ready to quit and go the fuck home when he heard an obnoxious laugh that sounded like an ass braying.

“C’mon Marco, it was _funny_ when Eren fell!”

Levi’s neck practically snapped in half as he whipped around at the sound of the jaguar warrior’s name.

“Jean, he fell down a flight of stairs!” cried out a man Levi recognized. It was the warrior who’d fainted at the sacrifice and the one who’d been knocked down with one blow from a stick with feathers. They were Eren’s comrades; maybe they knew where he was. It was a better idea than just wandering this bigass city alone doing fuck all to find Eren again.

“Serves him right for laughing at me last month!” the one with the long face raged as Levi started to follow them. “That suicidal bastard! I’m not the first guy who’s been defeated by a captive!”

He kept whining the whole fucking way that Levi followed them. He was starting to wish that defeat _had_ been a death blow by the time the freckled one stopped in front of a house. He suggested, “Should we drop in and visit?”

This was Eren’s house? Fucking finally. It had nearly driven him crazy, but following these two jackanapes had paid off. Levi stepped ahead of them with every intention of entering the house, once again glad he could choose to make himself visible or not to humans. Something made him hesitate at the doorway. Levi didn’t really get why he’d come here or what he’d expected. But the thought of seeing Eren again made his stomach feel as if it were full of hummingbirds going batshit crazy in there.

He entered the house anyway. His organs all felt like they’d flip-flopped at the sight of Eren before him again. He was sitting down, injured leg stretched out in front of him. The gash looked awfully nasty but a doctor was looking it over and packing medicine on it carefully.

There. There was Eren. He’d seen him, end of story. Time to haul ass back to Mictlan. Levi’s body wasn’t listening though. He hadn’t budged.

“Hey Eren, how’s the leg dumbass?” crowed Jean as he entered the house. Eren’s face pulled into a nasty grimace as he made an obscene gesture at him.

“Fuck off, Jean!”

A shrill cry ripped from Eren’s throat. At first Levi thought the injury to his leg must have pained him. Then he realized Eren’s ear was being pulled by a fierce-looking woman.

“Watch your language young man!”

“MOM, STOP!” he yelped.

Jean looked like he was going to piss himself laughing. Even Marco looked like he was struggling not to giggle at the scene. He finally managed to choke out, “Get better soon, Eren!” before dragging a laughing Jean out of there.

Eren’s mother finally let go of his ear. He looked deeply put out. The way that lower lip jutted out in a pout… Was it bad that Levi thought he looked adorable as hell? He really should have been going, but instead he sat down to watch Eren get his leg bandaged.

Had to make sure their warriors were doing all right. The empire would be weakened if they weren’t. Yeah.

“How’s it coming along, dear?” his mother asked the doctor.

Even though he frowned, the doctor said, “Just fine.”

The mother placed one hand on her hip and shot him a look that practically screamed, “ _Bullshit!_ ”

Obviously, he was fluent in body language because the doctor sighed.

“I’m running low on supplies,” he admitted. “There wasn’t much rain this year so I don’t have many plants left to make medicines.”

Sudden movement drew Levi’s attention away from the doctor. As he spoke, Eren had gotten up and tested putting some weight on his injured leg. Once again Levi had to admire the hell out of Eren’s grit. He paled a bit, probably in pain, but he kept walking. So brave.

“It feels much better. Thanks, Dad,” he said. He threw an arm around his father, then his mother. “I’m gonna head home now, but I’ll be back to visit soon.”

Perfect. This was the perfect opportunity to stop being a voyeuristic creep and just go back to Mictlan. Eren was leaving.

“Bye!” Eren said with a brilliant smile on his face. Oh fuck. He should have left, but instead Levi’s feet betrayed him.

He started following Eren through Tenochtitlan.

What the hell was wrong with him? Why was Levi so fucking tempted into being a stalker today?

Following Eren turned out to be the worst mistake of his life. They passed a group of kids kicking a ball around. Eren stopped to play and let the kids win. He stopped by the temple to chat with a friend who was a priest. He donated handsomely before he left. Then as they walked through the marketplace, Eren stopped to buy food for a beggar.

On top of all the other things going for him, Eren was kind-hearted as well. That fucker. Levi was becoming more infatuated by the minute. Because there was nothing else to call this shitty feeling blossoming in Levi’s heart. Eren managed to draw him in like he apparently did for countless people around him.

Levi only managed to break free of this spell when it got dark and Eren finally retired to his own home. It took an enormous feat of strength not to just follow him in there, but somehow Levi managed it. He returned to Mictlan instead.

Now that he’d indulged in the warmth of Eren, Mictlan seemed even shittier. He hadn’t scratched an itch. He’d ruined himself. He probably shouldn’t have gone to the city after all. In fact, it had been an incredibly stupid decision. Well, he sure as hell wasn’t going to repeat that mistake. No more Eren. No more going to Tenochtitlan. And definitely _no more stalking_.

So Levi threw himself into his duties, trying to forget about Eren.

* * *

Clearly, one of the other gods was laughing at him. And jerking him around. A lot. The weeks dragged on and Levi felt shittier by the day. Not even the tribute he got daily from the souls who’d struggled past the nine layers of trials to Mictlan could cheer him up.

An elderly man approached him next with his offering. It was a beautiful pair of brand spanking new sandals. Levi’s first thought was that they would look perfect on Eren. He wished Eren were here to be able to give them to him.

He finally snapped.

Clearly pining away in Mictlan hoping he’d just forget about Eren was fucking useless. Levi didn’t have the patience to wait for Eren to die and come to Mictlan on his own, but he _could_ go up to Tenochtitlan and give them to Eren himself. He was going to, dammit.

In the end, when Levi stalked his way back to Eren’s house, he didn’t seem to be there. Fuck. Well, maybe it was a good thing his obsession didn’t get fed with a glimpse of Eren. So Levi placed the sandals on the floor just inside of the doorway for him before leaving.

When he returned a few weeks later with some jewelry he thought might suit Eren, the amount of joy Levi felt at seeing Eren wearing the sandals cemented his fate. The next time he got offerings, he started sifting through them for something new to bring to Eren. And a few weeks later he brought a new trinket for his jaguar warrior.

Then another one.

And another one.

And another one.

Being able to make Eren happy kept him sane. Mostly because the glimpses he got of Eren and watching his happy reactions when he stumbled upon a new gift made him feel less like Mictlan was a prison. It almost got kinda fun accepting his offerings and trying to figure out what Eren would like most.

On one of these many trips, as Levi was stealthily slipping chocolate into Eren’s food stores, he noticed something odd. Hmm. A frown crossed his face. That looked kinda bare. Was Eren eating enough?

“I can’t believe nothing’s growing,” a voice Levi recognized whined.

Jean, Marco, a third friend, and Eren walked into his home. Levi normally tried very hard not to linger in Eren’s house—it made him feel less like a creepy stalker—but this was a new development he had to know about.

“Maybe it’s a punishment from the gods ‘cuz you sucked so hard at the sacrifice in spring?” Eren suggested. Jean quickly put him in a headlock. After a few moments of the two grunting and wrestling (damn that Jean for getting to touch Eren), Eren managed to free himself and throw Jean to the floor. Their rassling was only interrupted by that last friend that Levi had never seen before.

“Ooh, chocolate!” he said before snatching it up. “Can I have a piece?”

Eren looked confused when he said, “I don’t have any chocolate.”

Their bald friend lifted the chocolate Levi had just brought and said, “Yes, you do! So, spare a piece?”

“That’s not mine.”

“All the more reason I can have some!” the friend replied before breaking off a piece and popping it in his mouth. Shit, that was for Eren! Levi considered bringing a nasty and untimely punishment to this little bald friend but he was distracted by Jean elbowing Eren in the side.

“Stop being coy, you little shit. I bet you left that chocolate around so we’d all ask you where it came from. Don’t try to play like you’re not bragging about your little secret admirer.”

Levi choked on his own spit. Blood rushed to Eren’s face as he mumbled something unintelligible.

“What?” Baldy said.

“I’m not being coy, shitface! But I _have_ been getting lots of gifts lately,” Eren repeated. A bashful smile appeared on his face moments before he tried to hide it with a scowl. Yikes. Now he looked kinda constipated but Levi was glad to see that Eren apparently was enjoying his gifts. Now if only he’d stop making that face.

“Oh, from whom?” Marco asked.

Eren seemed to shrink a little before admitting, “I don’t know.”

“PHHHHT!” Baldy loudly spat the chocolate he was eating out. “You don’t know where this came from? It could be poisoned, Eren! How could you let me eat it?”

“Hey, Connie, clean that up!”

As if Eren were fucking adorable enough already! On top of everything else, he too valued a clean home. Levi was gone.

“Yeah Connie, you really shouldn’t waste food,” Marco said.

“Especially since we’re probably going to be starving soon,” Jean added.

Shit. Connie had distracted Levi from the earlier conversation about the distinct lack of rain in the valley. Levi broke out into a cold sweat at the possibility that soon Eren would be suffering from an empty belly. Now fucking way he was going to let that happen.

Levi swept out of Eren’s home. He was the god of death, but life was in his domain too. Focusing all of his energy to the crops, Levi willed them to shuck their seed coats and grow. He would not let Eren go hungry.

* * *

On his next trip to bring Eren shit, Levi was immensely pleased to see plants sprouting in the fields surrounding Tenochtitlan. What a relief. Of course, like all the good things in Levi’s life, the relief was short-lived. Because fate insisted on sucker punching him at every opportunity possible.

He arrived at Eren’s home to find him tending to a gash in his arm that was clearly the work of a macuahuitl. The jewelry in his hands nearly tumbled to the ground Levi was so filled with shock to see Eren like this.

For the first time, it hit Levi that Eren battled often. Of fucking course he _knew_ that Eren was a jaguar warrior and in the back of his mind, he knew that Eren fought often. But it had never occurred to him that he didn’t only have to worry about the lack of crops killing Eren. He also had to worry about him dying in battle. That would be absolutely shitty because if that happened, he could never see him again.

If Eren got cut down in battle or shit, an enemy managed to kidnap him and make _him_ into a sacrifice, his soul wouldn’t go to Mictlan. Souls who died heroically would go to serve the sun god. Eren would be in the heavens and Levi would be stuck nine crappy layers underground in Mictlan. They would be separated not just for Eren’s life like they were now, but for all eternity.

Levi’s only real hope of ever being able to even _speak_ to Eren someday instead of just leaving him gifts like a creepo stalker, was if Eren died of old age and made it through the journey to Mictlan.

Was it completely fucked up that Levi was considering messing with Eren’s afterlife to make sure he could continue to see him? Yes. It was. Abso-fucking-lutely. But even though Levi knew that, here he was, a few weeks later, sitting in a tree and watching over a healed Eren in his next battle.

He’d fucked up when making those crops grow. Now Tenochtitlan was being ambushed for their plentiful food stores. Fuck. That was _not_ supposed to put Eren in more danger. Why did this kind of crap happen to Levi?

As he mulled this over, a voice softly said, “You look like shit.”

“Mikasa,” Levi replied without looking over. The tree branch suddenly dipped as the goddess of war sat down next to him. The two gods watched the battle play out before them.

“Didn’t you just have a feast day?” Mikasa asked. “Your face shouldn’t look so awful.”

“Thanks for sharing,” Levi said dryly. The two gods watched while prisoners were taken away in preparation for the next feast day. At least that would quench the thirst growing in his throat.

Levi practically shit his pants when he looked over at Eren and saw an enemy soldier behind him poised with his macuahuitl at Eren’s neck. Someone could have poured a bucket of ice water on him and it still wouldn’t come close to the cold sweat breaking out on him. He acted without thinking; he stopped the heart of the enemy from beating. Before anything awful could happen to Eren, the soldier collapsed dead.

Once it was clear the danger had passed, Levi’s heart started to slow its rapid pulsing. Thank fuck, he’d managed to keep Eren safe.

“You are in such deep shit,” Mikasa commented.

“The hell do you mean?”

“Becoming infatuated with humans has never ended well for our kind.”

Levi kept his eyes firmly fixed on Mikasa’s when he asked, “Who says I’m infatuated?”

One of her thin eyebrows rose.

“It’s obvious,” she said. “You’ve been shirking your duties to leave Mictlan and now you’re trying to drag a specific soul down there with you.”

“Fuck off.”

What business of hers was it anyway?

“I don’t blame you, he certainly is beautiful,” Mikasa said. His blood boiled at the thought of any other god trying to interfere with him. That pissed off aura around him must have been palpable because she added, “See, I told you. You’re in trouble. Good luck, you need it.”

Mikasa hopped off the branch they were sitting on and headed for the fray. After she joined the battle Levi didn’t even have a moment to blink before their people were standing triumphant. Eren was still safe.

* * *

The problem with trying to make sure Eren didn’t die a death that would separate them eternally was that Levi couldn’t be there at every moment. He _had_ to tend to his duties welcoming souls to Mictlan. He had no way of knowing when the fuck Eren’s battles were so he couldn’t watch over every single one. Even if he managed to watch over all of them, there was still no way to prevent Eren from falling down the stairs again or drowning or shit, even cutting himself cooking.

Trying to keep up with this crap was draining him. Levi was tired as shit when he found enough time to slip out of Mictlan and trudge up to Eren’s home at dawn.

Oh god, he was still sleeping when Levi came in. It was stalker as fuck, but after setting the golden ring he’d brought on top of the chest with Eren’s clothes, he stopped to look. Just for a moment, he wanted to watch Eren’s chest rise and fall with every breath.

This was absolutely pathetic. But it was kinda nice to look at Eren’s sleeping face. It was like a quick glimpse of what their lives could have been if Levi had been born human. Or Eren a god. A home for the two of them. Those food stores (thankfully looking fuller than before) could have fed the both of them. Their sleeping mats could have been laid out side-by-side. He could look at Eren’s face every night instead of being this creepy.

Mikasa was right, he _was_ fucked. Mostly by fate. He sighed in frustration. Then Eren’s eyes fluttered open. Levi felt like he’d been struck by a bolt of lightning for the split second Eren’s eyes met his. It was almost like he saw him there, waiting.

“Is someone there?” Eren called out as he sat up, breaking the eye contact between them. Oh fuck, this was awkward. Eren was looking around his home in confusion. He froze when he saw the jewelry on his furniture.

“Are you still here?” he called out eagerly, a look of hope on his face. Levi tried not to move. Even though Eren couldn’t see him, he felt like he couldn’t attract attention to himself. “Who’s bringing me these gifts? I wanna know who you are!”

It was _so fucking tempting_ to just reveal himself to Eren. Right here, right now. But he couldn’t. Eren was sleeping alone in his home but he surely didn’t want things to stay that way. Eren must have wished for a wife and kids. Maybe he was already in love with some other woman Levi hadn’t seen on his trips to Tenochtitlan yet. He probably even hoped that a cute girl was the one slipping all these gifts into his home when he wasn’t looking.

Even though he was a god, Levi still wasn’t powerful enough to be able to give those things to Eren. He couldn’t pop Eren’s happiness bubble. Not when he’d dedicated the last few months to making sure the other man lived a happy life. Levi waited until Eren fell back asleep, clutching the ring in his hands, before getting up and leaving.

* * *

One day, Levi came up with more gifts for Eren and was met with an odd sight. The bolt of fine new cloth he’d brought Eren last time was sitting untouched on his table. A frown crossed Levi’s face. Had Eren not liked it? He’d thought the color and pattern would really suit him. Levi left his new gift for Eren and hoped it would please him better than this last fuckup.

Except both gifts were sitting there the next time. What the hell, had Eren really hated both of them? Levi looked around. Nothing looked out of place but there was a layer of dust on all of Eren’s shit. It looked like he hadn’t been home the whole time Levi had spent in Mictlan. That was highly unusual. If he wasn’t here then where the fuck was he? A cold feeling sank into Levi’s stomach. Had something happened to Eren while he was away?

Those suspicions were confirmed when he tried looking in Eren’s parents’ home and found his tearful mother wailing about her son killed in battle. Once he’d heard the words “Eren is dead” everything went numb for Levi.

He was never going to be with Eren. All of his efforts were in vain. In fact, he’d screwed Eren over by making those damned crops grow. What an epic fuckup. The pile of carefully selected gifts in his house was as useless as he was. He’d completely failed to protect the man he loved. Eren was gone.

Days passed. The numbness wouldn’t go the fuck away. Color disappeared from his life, nothing tasted good anymore or smelled nice. He was stuck in a shit storm that seemed endless in its pain. Levi could feel nothing except an ache where his heart used to be and a vague, growing thirst. He knew he needed blood but couldn’t bring himself to care.

This was the pathetic as fuck state he was in when he received an unusual visitor.

“You look like shit.”

“The fuck do you want Mikasa?”

“I want to help you.”

“Bullshit.”

“I have something for you.” When Levi didn’t respond, she added, “You’d better come with ne.”

Levi was irritated that she wouldn’t just leave him the hell alone. He didn’t want anything but Eren but he was with another god now. That lucky bastard of a sun god. Levi hated him. At this point though, Mikasa couldn’t do jack for Levi. She seemed determined to be an annoying little shit until he crawled out of bed though so Levi managed it.

Mikasa led him up to the surface and to the valley. Last fucking place he wanted to be right now. All the humans milling about reminded him that none of them were Eren. They also reminded him that he was becoming so, _so_ thirsty. He still listed after Mikasa to a lake. She walked right up to a crack in the rocks before she stopped.

“They sacrificed him to _me_ but…” She turned pink. “I thought his heart would serve you better.”

“The fuck?” Levi said. Sure, he was getting pretty fucking thirsty and a little weak. He really needed the next feast day to hurry up and get here, but he didn’t need Mikasa’s sacrificial sloppy seconds in the meantime.

“Just get in there!” Mikasa sighed before shoving Levi hard in the back.

“Shit!” he swore as he stumbled into the cave. He didn’t care that they were related, he was going to _kill_ Mikasa.

“Who’s there?”

Levi’s attention was drawn into the cave. A lone man was kneeling naked on the ground. Ropes were tied around his wrists and to the cave walls, spreading his arms out in a sacrificial pose. He’d been left to starve for the gods. The victim raised his head and repeated, “Who’s there?”

_What the fuck._

Relief hit him like a ton of bricks. “Eren?!”

“How do you know my name?”

Levi stepped closer, unable to believe it. He’d _heard_ Eren’s mother say he was dead. What the fresh hell was this? He reached out and pressed a finger against the other man’s cheek. Real, not an illusion. Eren must have been kidnapped by the enemy and not killed like his mother believed. Because he was here and all trussed up to be sacrificed to Mikasa. Levi looked over at the mouth of the cave where the other god was.

“You’re welcome!” she mouthed. There was a weird, psychotic grin on her face but Levi couldn’t find two fucks to give. Eren was alive! It was kinda touching that Mikasa was willing to give away her sacrifice to give him a chance at Eren’s heart. He knew she must be hungry too.

“I said who are you?”

For the first time ever, they were looking at each other eye-to-eye. Levi really hoped Eren didn’t think he was weird or gross. Fuck, he should have taken a bath before following Mikasa. He’d been too depressed to take one for the last week and now he was all too aware that he didn’t smell the best. Shit, his face felt kinda greasy too. Why?

Well, there was nothing he could do about it now. So he plunged ahead with saying, “I’m the king of Mictlan. My name is Levi.”

Eren’s eyes popped open.

“Lord of Mictlan,” he whispered in a daze. Levi suddenly became _very_ aware of a crusted-over cut in Eren’s forehead. All the movement he was doing had reopened the wound. Blood started to drip down Eren’s face.

His body’s needs that had been ignored while he grieved Eren’s “death” came front and center at the sight of the blood. Suddenly Levi was ravenous. Burning hunger for the man’s beating heart gnawed at him. His body was weakened for want of blood. Levi swore he could hear it, _smell it_ , coursing through Eren’s veins. He wanted to eat him.

His hand was on his knife before he could even think about it.

“Hey,” Eren said, brow crinkling in confusion. “Your ring…”

Levi looked down at the hand, surprised to see he was gripping his knife. Yeah, he was wearing one of his rings? He looked back up at Eren, curiosity stilling his bloodlust.

“It matches a necklace I had,” Eren explained. He blinked a few times, clearly racking his brain for the memories. “Exactly. Like it was part of the same set.”

Well, that wasn’t unlikely. Levi had given Eren a lot of shit, and some of them _had_ been sets. He’d kept a few pieces to feel like he had some sort of connection to Eren more than just being a stalker. Realization dawned on Eren’s face.

“My Lord, are you the one who’s been watching over me? When it didn’t rain our crops grew anyway. I suddenly couldn’t be defeated in battle. And the gifts. Was all of that you?”

Levi couldn’t tell if Eren looked grateful or creeped the hell out. He was right though, so he admitted, “Yeah. That was me. Did you like them?”

“Yes, I did,” Eren said softly. He smiled at Levi, a smile so angelic he practically keeled over himself. “Is it time for me to pay you back?”

“What?”

“You need my blood, don’t you? Isn’t that why we’re here? Well, I'm ready!" Eren said. He puffed out his chest and locked his gaze onto Levi’s when he said, "My heart is yours."

There was a gross sinking feeling in Levi's stomach. He wished Eren meant that in the figurative sense but he probably meant it literally. He really wanted Levi to carve out his heart. The godly part of him wanted that shit too. The gods had sacrificed themselves for the creation of the human race and they needed that energy back to keep the world going.

Plus, he was _really_ fucking hungry.

But Levi was also selfish. If Eren was sacrificed, sure he’d get the blood he craved but then Eren’s soul would never go to Mictlan. Which would be a hell of a lot worse. He’d rather have Eren. Levi’s fingers tightened on his knife. There was one other way he could do that and not lose his mind with hunger.

He cut the rope holding one of Eren's arms. Once the arm was out of the way Levi cut into Eren’s earlobe with his knife.

“Shit!” Eren hissed. Levi didn’t hear him. The fresh blood welling up from the flesh was too distracting. Levi’s hunger overwhelmed the grossness of Eren's dirty face after a week in this shitty cave. He leaned forward, brushed any hair away from his ear, and licked at the wound.

Levi swallowed a mouthful of Eren's blood and instantly began to feel rejuvenated. He dragged his tongue against Eren's neck, catching a drop that had tried to roll away from his ear. A moan escaped his throat at the delightful feeling of blood filling his belly. Eren tipped his head back, making it easier for Levi to get to the bleeding wound. He held Eren’s face lovingly as he drank the blood dripping from the cut he’d made. Every little bit of blood he swallowed was making him feel stronger and stronger. Eventually, he felt well enough to take his lips off of Eren's ear.

He looked up at Eren. The man's face was flushed red. Now that he was starting to think clearly, Levi felt embarrassed as shit too. He’d been licking him like a dog and moaning like a slut. What was wrong with him?

"That will be more than enough," Levi said stiffly, avoiding looking too closely at Eren’s face. Even from the awkward distance he’d put between him, it almost looked like Eren was disappointed by that.

That did sort of make sense. Twisted sense. A glorious afterlife awaited Eren if Levi had just killed him. That would probably make him happy. But. He just couldn’t fucking bring himself to do it. There was no way he could kill Eren. Instead, Levi cut the other rope tying him down and freed him. He helped undo the knots around Eren’s wrists. It was horrifying to see his wrists all bruised and chapped from the ropes. Levi massaged his wrists gently in an apology.

“Are you sure you don’t need _anything else_ from me, my Lord?” Eren asked. Goddamn those eyes. He swore Eren had widened them and made them shine on purpose to drive him stupid. He wasn’t going to fall for that though.

“I’m sure,” Levi repeated. It killed him to say this, but, “You should just go home.”

“I can’t. If I go home, everyone’ll think I tried to avoid my responsibility to the gods. I’ll be shunned.”

Well, Eren wasn’t exactly wrong about that. Sacrifices kept the world from coming to an end. The gods sacrificed, the humans had to too. Levi would be thoroughly disgusted with any fuckface who refused their duty like that. Of course Eren’s family and friends felt the same way. Eren _was_ kinda fucked.

Dammit, why the hell did he keep accidentally fucking up Eren’s life? First he’d nearly gotten him killed and now he was homeless and couldn’t see his family ever again. He only had one idea left that he imagined wouldn’t backfire. Maybe.

“Would you consider… coming to Mictlan with me?” Levi asked. He fully expected Eren to say no. No one really wanted to be in Mictlan, it sucked ass down there. Eren would be far better off slitting his wrists in this crappy cave. But maybe Mictlan would be slightly better than having to live in the woods alone because he couldn’t go home?

After a long pause, Eren looked up with a determined yet happy look on his face. He said, “I will go.”

Levi nearly stumbled back he was so shocked. It also made Levi’s heart feel like it was swelling up it suddenly felt so light. Eren was willing to go with him and be by his side in Mictlan. He still didn’t fully understand _why_ (they barely knew each other!) but Levi was grateful as hell. In that moment, Levi swore that he would shower Eren with love, to make this decision worth the warrior’s while. He offered his hand; Eren took it.

They headed for Mictlan together.

**Author's Note:**

> According to some versions, Mictlantecuhtli’s wife, Mictecacihuatl, was born human and sacrificed to the underworld. She became a goddess and ruled over Mictlan as a queen. Eren filled this role perfectly.
> 
> I tried to work the explanations of Aztec culture into the fic, but in case anything wasn’t clear I wanted to explain further.
> 
> I referenced a few of the methods of sacrifice utilized by the Aztecs. One method is to cut out the heart of the living victim. Another method was the gladiatorial sacrifice. The victim was strapped to an enormous stone and given a fake macuahuitl that was lined with feathers instead of obsidian. They were pitted against four armed warriors and obviously had no hope of winning the fight. The third method was bloodletting. People would cut their earlobes, tongues, or genitals and offer that blood as a sacrifice. These people would live. In the end, I fudged the historical sacrifice methods a little to keep Eren alive.
> 
> Sacrifice victims were usually prisoners of war.
> 
> Eren had the status of a jaguar warrior. Jaguar warriors were distinguished warriors who’d captured many enemies in battle. Their attire was composed of jaguar skins.
> 
> In Aztec culture, your afterlife depended on how you’d died. If you drowned or were killed by lighting, you went to a special paradise. If you had an ordinary death, you went to Mictlan. Heroic deaths (battle, childbirth, or sacrifice) resulted in joining the sun god in the heavens and eventual reincarnation as a hummingbird. Eren obviously could not have had a heroic death for him to be able to join Levi in Mictlan.
> 
> The Aztec gods sacrificed themselves and their blood to keep the human race alive, and therefore required sacrifices to maintain life on earth.
> 
> I hope that covered everything and I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
